William iiobning-



(No Model.)

W. BURNING.

THILL GOUPLING.

No. 557,817. Patented Apr. 7, 1896.

`Arron/VHS.

ANDREW BVGRMIM. PMCTUUTND WASHIHGTDILD NiTnD STATES PATENT Orricn.

VILLIAM HORNING, OF JOHNSTOVN, NEv YORK.

THlLL-COUPLING.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 557,817', dated April 7, 1896.

Application filed August 10,1895. Serial No. 558,898. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, WILLIAM HORNTNG, of Johnstown, in the county of Fulton and State of New York, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Thill-Couplings, of which the following is a full, clear, and enact description.

This invention relates to certain improvements in thill-couplings, and has for its object to produce a device of this character of a simple and inexpensive construction, which shall be adapted for ready and convenient adjustment to take up all looseness resulting from wear, and shall at the same time permit of free and easy movement of the thills with out producing any rattling thereof, as is common in other forms of coupling heretofore devised.

The invention contemplates certain novel features of the construction,combination, and arrangement of the various parts of the device, whereby certain important advantages are attained and the device is rendered simpler, cheaper, stronger, and otherwise better adapted for use than various similar couplings heretofore employed, all as will be hereinafter fully set forth.

The novel features of the invention will be carefully defined in the claims.

Reference is to be had to the accompanying drawings, forming a part of this specilication, in which similar characters of reference indicate corresponding parts in all the figures.

Figure 1 is a side elevation of the coupling, showing the same in position for use. Fig. 2 is a plan view of the same. Fig. 3 is a longitudinal mid-section taken vertically through the coupling. Fig. i is a sectional plan view showing the sockets of the clip-plate opened and the thill-iron detached therefrom. Fig. 5 is a view showing the construction of the clip for the attachment of the clip-plate, and Fig. 6 is a view showing a modified form of thill-iron.

In the views, l represents the axle of the vehicle to which my improved coupling is a pplied for use, and l represents the clip, herein shown as provided with four screw-threaded shanks 4;, two at each end, said shanks being arranged to extend through perforations 3, formed in the clip-plate 2, secured in the usual position under the axle 1 and held in place by means of nuts 5, screwing on the lowerends of said shanks @t below it, as clearly seenin the drawings.

On the under side of the clip-plate 2, at the central part thereof, is formed an elongated tubular bearing G, adapted to receive a shank or bolt 7, the rear end of which is threaded, as clearly seen at S in the drawings, and is adapted to engage interior screw-threads 9 formed in a nut 10, arranged to turn in the enlarged rear end of the bearing-piece 6, vand provided with a peripheral groove 1l to receive an annular projection or crease l2 formed in said rear end of the bearing-piece 6, whereby said nut is permitted to turn freely in said enlargement, but is prevented frombeing removed therefrom. The nut 10 is also provided at its rear end with a projecting flange 13, which maybe milled, so as to be turned readily with the fingers, or squared, so as to be turned by a wrench, as may be desired.

The shank is provided with a slot 7 (seen in dotted lines in Figs. 3 and et) to receive a pin (5 on bearing-piece 6, serving to limit the movement of said shank. The forward end of the bolt or shank 7 extends beyond the front end of the clip-plate 2 and is forked or branched laterally, as seen at 14, the end of each branch ll being provided on its inner face, or that face adjacent to the clip-plate, with a cup-shaped depression or recess which is arranged to coincide, when the said branch is moved toward the clip-plate, with a similar cup-shaped depression or recess 1G formed in the adjacent face of an ear or projection 17 on that side of the said clipplate, there being, as is clearly shown in the drawings, an ear or projection 17 at each side of the clip-plate, and between said ears 17 is formed a recess 1S, arranged to be engaged by a square or enlarged flat-sided portion 1S on the shank 7.

lVhen the nut l0 is rotated so as to move the branches 14 toward the ears 17 and cause the recesses l5 and 16 to coincide, said recesses will form seats to receive balls carried on the thill or shaft iron, one of these balls 19 (see Fig. i) being formed as a head on one end of the shank 2O of said iron, said shank being detachable from the thill-iron 21 and being passed through a transverse opening in the end of the same, and having its oppo- IOO site end screw-threaded, as seen at 22, to engage and iit into a screw-threaded aperture formed in a ball-shaped nut 23, as clearly seen in the drawings.

ln attaching the thills, the nut l0 is turned so as to open the ball-sockets formed by the recesses l5 in the movable parts 14 and the recesses 16 in the ixed parts 17 ,and the balls 19 and 23 are inserted therein, after Which said nut l0 is turned in the reverse direction, so as to close the ball-sockets and hold said balls securely in place therein. Should the balls become Worn, the nut l0 may be still further turned, so as to take up the resulting looseness, whereby rattling is prevented at all times.

From the above description of my improvements it will be obvious that the device is of an extremely simple and inexpensive construction and serves to hold the thills securely Without limiting their free swinging movement on the axle, and it will also be obvious that the invention is susceptible of considera-ble modication Without material departure from the principles and spirit of my invention, and for this reason l do not Wish to be understood as limiting myself to the exact form of the device herein set forth. For example, instead of forming the shank 2O separate from the thill-iron 2l, the construction shown in Fig. 6 may be employed. In this View the shank 2l and its balls 25 25 are formed integrally With said thill or shaft iron 2l.

Having thus described my invention, l claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patentl. The combination With the tubular bearing adapted to be clipped to the axle and having a pair of half-sockets on its front end at opposite sides of its bore, of the bolt extending through the said tubular bearing and formed on its front end with a pair of halfsockets registering with those on said bearing, and a nut on the rear end of the bolt to draw its sockets toward those on said bearing, substantially as described.

2. The combination With the tubular bearing adapted tobe clipped to the axle and having a pair of half-sockets on its front end above and at opposite sides of its bore, of the bolt extending through said bearing and having a pair oi' half-sockets on its iront end registering with those on said bearing, and a tubular nut swiveled in the rear end of the bearing and receiving the rear end of the bolt to adjust its sockets toward and from those on the front of the bearing, substantially as described.

3. A thill-coupling, comprising an axleclip, a tubular bearing on the under side of its plate and formed on its front end with halfsockets above and at opposite sides of its bore, a bolt extending through the said bearing and having a slot or groove between its ends and formed on its front end with half-sockets registering With those of the bearing, a pin projecting from the bearing into the bolt slot or groove to limit the outward movement of said bolt,and a tubular nut sWi veled on the rear end of the bearing and receiving the threaded rear end of the bolt to adjust its sockets toward and from those on the bearing, substantially as described.

4. A thill-coupling, consisting in the thilliron having a transverse'bar or shank provided With balls at its extremities, a clip having a plate formed on its under side With a tubular bearing having half-sockets at its front end above and at opposite sides of the bore to receive the rear halves of said balls, a bolt extending through the tubular bearing and having half-sockets at its front end registering with those on the bearing and inclosing the balls and a tubular nut siviveled on the rear end of the tubular bearing and receiving the rear threaded end of the bolt to draw its half-sockets toward those on the tubular bearing, substantially as described.

5. A thill-iron having a transverse aperture, a shank passed through said aperture, threaded at one extremity and terminating in aball at the other, and a ball provided With a threaded socket receiving the threaded extremity of the bolt, substantiallyas described.

WILLIAM HORNING. Vitn esses PHILIP Knox, GEORGE HiNDs. 

